John 6:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

NIV: Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

NASB: Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.

CSB: "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.

NLT: Jesus replied, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

KJV: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

NKJV: And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

This verse represents the first "I am" statement of John's gospel. In each of these instances, Jesus uses the phrase "I am" in reference to Himself, providing perspective on His mission and His ministry. This echoes the reference used by God Himself when speaking to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:13–14). Jesus will use this same phrasing, to the same disciple writing this gospel, in a vision many decades later (Revelation 1:8).

The people have come to Jesus looking for another miracle: more free food (John 6:26). Instead, Jesus says they need to be seeking the "true bread from heaven" to obtain eternal life. Jesus has already clarified that this does not mean good works; it means belief in the One sent by God (John 6:29).

Jesus explicitly declares that He, Himself, is the One sent by God. Eternal life is found only through belief in Jesus Christ (John 3:36; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Jesus continues the analogy of food here, combining the ideas of spiritual hunger (Matthew 4:4) and spiritual thirst (John 4:13–14). Saving faith is seen as an analogy to food and drink: a person must take it inside of themselves. Acceptance is a requirement for these blessings to have any effect.

John 6:22–40 describes the initial aftermath of Jesus' feeding of thousands the previous day. The crowd's actual desire is for another supernatural spectacle and more free food. In this passage, Christ begins to explain the true meaning behind His miracle and His ministry. This includes the first of seven ''I am'' statements in the gospel of John—moments where Jesus declares His own divinity. Jesus clarifies that physical things such as bread are symbols of a spiritual truth. In the following segment, the crowd will stop seeking and start complaining.

In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small meal, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away in disappointment.

John chapter 6 occurs some months after the events of chapter 5, bringing the narrative to about one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. As with the rest of the gospel of John, the purpose is not to repeat information from the other three Gospels, but to focus on Jesus' status as God incarnate. This chapter continues to expand the list of Jesus' miraculous signs and the witnesses to His divine nature. Here, Jesus also gives the first of seven ''I am'' statements found in this gospel. Chapter 7 will once again skip ahead to a major public step in Jesus' path to the cross.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.